Sydney Mai – RS 450-01 – Sustainable Communities – Spring 2017

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Week #10: A New Story of the People / Gun, Germs, and Steel

In “A New Story of the People,“ one topic Charles Eisenstein speaks of how there is a forces of separation upon people. If people are separate from the universe, they start wanting to control external forces and become lords and masters of nature. Nowadays, this way of thinking cannot continue due to the limitations the Earth has. There are many influences that maintain this force of separation, one including economics. But, this can be counteracted by gatherings such as TEDtalks, and immersing one another with each others’ awareness. I agree with this act of counteracting the forces of separation. Some people are unable to realize the effects of their actions on the Earth, but if gatherings, events, or forms of media were implemented, people are able to see beyond what they could not see before. For example, I didn’t realize how unsustainable my lifestyle was until after taking this course. But after learning and interacting with others, I was able to realize the truth and use the information to better my life and the Earth. A key way to teach is with the absence of force, and is something many activists keep in mind when they go about with their life’s work.

In “Guns, Germs, and Steel,“ Jared Diamond explains how geography greatly affected inequality in the world. Because of what was available to a certain region of the world, that region was able to make use of whatever resource and develop as people. In the middle east, there was a region called the “Fertile Crescent” in which, way back in history, farming and the domestication of animals had first developed. Most animals that were able to become domesticated had originated from that region. The way our modern world has advanced similarly evolved quickly in the Fertile Crescent. There was indeed a downfall though, due to overexploitation of the land and resources. Seeing this event in history may be able to teach us something today. Many know most of our modern world is overexploiting the only resources we have. Our downfall and failure is yet to come if we continue our advanced methods. Although we have amazing, efficient, and admirable technology, I feel as if a lot of these technologies are our way to “cheat“ in surviving. The human race is the biggest competitor against the rest of the Earth, and so far we’ve been winning, but by the means of cheating. We’ve been getting ahead of the race by violating nature and many choose not to see the lessons history teaches us. By studying the past, we can avoid a lot of future troubles we are yet to face.

how exactly do you think we can learn from the exploitation of the fertile crescent? i mean, we don’t really know how they responded to or knew of their problem. and, how can we implement the lesson of the TED talk with the learning of the documentary?